Drum beater



B. W. DANE DRUM BEATER July 16, 1957 2 Smets-sheet 1 Filed April 30,1956V WWWW/Wwl 1 s om .mm am mV N El. n B

/vEY

'July 16, 1957 5 'a w DANE DRUM BEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 50,1956 BRI/6E' W. DANE Y lINVENTOR.

Patented July 16, 1957 ntic DRUM BEATER Bruce W. Dane, Cranford, N. l.

Application April 30, 1956, Serial No. d1,672

6 Claims. (Cl. 84-422) This invention relates to drum beaters and moreparticularly to a novel arrangement for securing the beater head to thehandle.

A drum beater comprises a generally spherical or cylindrical head, madeof telt or other suitable material, carried at one end of a slender,resilient handle. Heretofore, the head has been secured to the handle byvarious arrangements utilizing a screw threaded into an axial hole inthe handle, bolts and nuts, cement, etc. In use, a drum beater issubject to vigorous pounding and one of the problems has been to devisea satisfactory means whereby the head will remain securely at'ixed tothe handle throughout the normal life of the device. In this respectcement and threadedly-cooperating parts have been found to beinadequate.

An object of this invention is the provision of a novel arrangement forsecuring the head of a drum beater to the handle and which arrangementis of such character as to retain the head firmly secured to the handleunder all conditions of use.

An object of this invention is the provision of a drum beater whereinthe resilient head is compressively clamped between spaced washers, thespacing between said washers being fixed by a spring member secured tothe handle.

An object of this invention is the provision of an arrangement forsecuring a head of resilient material to a handle to form a drum beater,said arrangement comprising a lower, cup-like washer affixed to thehandle, a generally U-shaped spring having divergently-ofset endsdisposed in radially aligned holes formed in the handle, and an upper,cup-like washer secured in position by the central portion of thespring, the said head being compressively clamped between the sai-dcup-like washers.

An object of this invention is the provision of a drum beater comprisinga han-dle having a tapered end, an axial bore in the tapered end of thehandle said bore cornmunicating with radial holes formed in the handlewall; a lower, cup-like Washer having a central hole and inserted overthe tapered end of the handle to a predetermined, maximum extent; agenerally spherical head of resilient material having a central holeextending therethrough, said hea-d being inserted over the tapered endof the handle; a U-shaped spring wire having its ends oiset in oppositedirections, the arms of said wire passing into the said axial bore andthe oiset spring ends extending into the said radial holes; and an uppercuplike washer secured in position by the said wire, the spacing betweenthe said cup-like washers being less than the normal thickness of saidhead whereby the head is compressively clamped between the two washers.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description when taken with the accompanying drawingsillustrating a drum beater made in accordance with this invention. Itwill be understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes ofillustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limitsof the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to theappended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts inthe several views:

Figure l is an exploded View, with parts in section,

2 showing the components vof a drum beater made in accordance with thisinvention;

Figure 2 is a plane view of the upper, cup-like washer showing theradial notches extending from the central hole of the washer;

Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2 and showing the stud assembled with thewasher, with the slot of the stud head aligned with the radial notchesformed in the washer;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view showing a partial assembly, that is,showing the lower-cup-like washer, the head and the retaining springwire assembled on the tapered end of the handle;

Figure 5 is a central, cross sectional view, drawn to an enlarged scale,showing the completed assembly of the head on the handle;

Figure 6 is an elevation showing the completed drum beater; and

Figure 7 is a central, sectional view showing the U- shaped spring wirecarried by an upper cup-like washer of somewhat different construction.y Reference is now made to Figure l wherein there is shown a slenderhandle 10 made of ber glass, hard wood or any other material strongenough to retain the compressed head assembly. The upper end of thehandle is tapered'and is provided with an axial bore 11 intersected by atransverse hole to form the radial holes 12, 12. The main portion of thehandle has a diameter such as will provide the required degree ofresiliency for use of the beater. In accordance with conventionalpractice, a ball 13, made of wood or plastic, is secured to the lowerend of the handle such ball retaining a suitable spring, or hook, 14 towhich a conventional thong may be attached. A lower, cup-shaped washer1S is carried by the tapered end of the handle. The washer is so formedthat the material around the central hole is pressed inwardly to form anintegral collar 16 and the diameter of the hole is such that the washercan be forced along the tapered portion of the handle to a predeterminedposition. Also, the peripheral surface of the washer is provided with aplurality of teeth 17 for purposes which will be described hereinbelow.

The beater head 18 may comprise an inner member 19 of relatively hardfelt, cork or other compress-ible material, enclosed within a covering20 of relatively soft felt. Such head is of generally cylindrical, ortruncated spherical, form and is provided with a central hole 21extending therethrough. I prefer to make the diameter of the hole 21correspond to the minimum diameter of handle thereby requiring a certainamount of force to insert the tapered handle end into the head. An uppercup-like washer 22 corresponds in external appearance to the lowerwasher 15. However, the upper washer 22 is formed to accommodate thehead of a stud 23 and for this purpose the inwardly-bent central portionof the Washer is formed with a circular lip 24. A generally U-shapedspring 2S, made of music wire or the like, has a base portion 26,diverging arms 27, 27 and reversely offset ends 2S, 28. The base portionof the spring is adapted to it into a conventional, diametrical slotformed in the head of the stud 23. It may here be pointed out that inthe assemhled device the head of the stud 23 fits nicely within thereversely-formed well formed in the upper washer 22. Consequently, inorder to accommodate those portions of the spring base which extendbeyond the stud head, the Washer 22 is provided withdiametrically-opposed slots or notches 30 as shown in Figure 2. Thus,when the stud is positioned on the washer, as shown in Figure 3, theslot 31 in the stud head 23 can' be aligned with the slots 30 in thewasher and the linear length of the combined slot and notches isslightly longer than the dimension a of the spring.

In the assembly of the drum beater, the lower Washer 15 is firstinserted to the fullest extent on the tapered end of the handle. Next,the arms 27, 27' of the spring are pinched together,. as with lthefingers, and inserted into the axial bore 11 in the handle until theoffsetrspring ends 28,. 28 snap into the radial holes 12, 12. -Suchinsertion of the spring into kthe Ioperative'position is done while thehead is detached from the handle. Consequently, the radial holes in the-handle are visible to the operator whereby the spring can be easily andaccurately placed into proper position. The base dimension a of thespring is slightly less than the diameter of the hole in the head 18 sothat the head can now be forced over the tapered portion of the handlewith the spring in position as described.

The sub-assembly of the lower washer 15, head 18, and spring 25 is shownin Figure 4. It will be noted that the base of the spring is disposedbelow the upper surface of the head. The purpose for such arrangement isto obtain a substantial compression of the head in the completed device,as will now be described. The subassembly shown in Figure 4 is placed ina suitable press, such as an arbor press, that is provided with asuitable fixture for supporting the sub-assembly inthe vertical positionas shown in Figure 4. More specifically, the fixture includes a holethrough which passes the handle and the upper surface of the fixture isof concave form to support and position the lower washer 15. The pressis provided with a hollow plunger having a concave working endconforming to the arcuate contour of the outer surface of the upperWasher 22, see Figure l. Such upper washer is now placed on the head 18with the slots 30 (see Figure 2) aligned with the base portion 25 of thespring. As the plunger is Vlowered under pressure, the head 1S iscompressed `between the lower washer supported by the fixture and theupper washer being forced downwardly by theV press. The head iscompressed until the base portion of the spring. passes through theslots in the upper washer and beyond the upper surface of same. It ishere pointed out that portions of the side wall of the compressingplunger are cut away so that operator can observe the central portion ofthe upper washer and the spring base during this operation. With thebase of the spring so protruding beyond the upper surface of the head,the stud 23 is now dropped into the concave central well of the upperwasher, and the Stud rotated by hand with a suitable tool until the slotin the stud head is aligned with the base portion of the spring. Whenthis is done the operator slowly releases the pressure generated bymeans of the press whereby the head 18 tends to expand to its originalform. As shown .in Figure 5, the extent of expansion of the head isrestricted by the upper washer 22 that is now held in position relativeto theV handle 10 by the offset ends 28, 28' of the spring. rl'he partsare so dimensioned that the assembled head is retained underconsiderable compression and actual tests have shown that the head soassembled cannot become separated from the handle under the most severeconditions of use.

In order to prevent possible rotation of the head about the handle asuitable cement may be applied to the tapered end of the handle justprior ,to the assembly of the head thereon. Also, the lower washer isprovided with a plurality of peripheral teeth 17 (see Figure l) whichbite into the lower surface of the head thereby preventing relativerotation between the head and the handle, it being apparent that thelower washer is tightly secured to the handle by reason of its beingforced to the fullest extent possible on the tapered handle.

As shown in Figure 6, the drum beater is of pleasing appearance. Thehead of the stud and the base portion of the wire spring lie in a wellbelow the outer surface of the upper washer 22. The handle does notprotrude beyond the upper surface of the head and there are no exposedscrews, nuts, or etc.,..as found in drum beaters madeheretofore. Theoutwardly symmetrical washers 15 and 22 are made of polished, hardaluminum or nickel-plated steel Which actually enhances the overallappearance of the device.

In the above described arrangement the upper washer 22 is locked inposition with respect to the spring and handle by means of the studhaving a head disposed within the well formed in the washer. Suchspecific construction is not essential to the practice of the invention.Figure 7 illustrates a washer 33 of somewhat different form and whicheliminates the need for a cooperating stud. Here, the central portion ofthe washer is pressed inwardly and two holes 34, 35 are punched in thelower surface 36 of the so-formed well. In this case, the holes must beof sufiicient diameter so that the offset ends28, 28 lof the wire springcan bepassed therethrough and the spring must be inserted into the axialhole in the handle with the washer 33 so assembled to the spring.Further, the spring must be inserted into the handle with the head ofthe beater in place and under pressure, which renders the assemblyoperation less convenient.

Having now described my invention those skilled in this art will find nodifiiculty in making changes and modifications inthe form oftheindividual parts and in the assembly thereof to meet' specificconditions. Such changes and modifications may be made without departingfromthe spirit and scope of the invention as recited in the followingclaims.

I claim:

l. An arrangement for securing a resilient head to a handle Yto form adrum beater, said arrangement comprising a tapered end on the handle,said end being provided with an axial bore communicating with radiallyextending holes; a lower washer force-fitted on the said tapered end ofthe handle; an upper washer secured to the handle by means of a springhaving arms extending into the said axial bore and offset ends disposedwithin the said radial holes, Athe tapered end of said handle beinginserted into a hole provided in said head and said head beingconipressively clamped between said washers.

` 2. The invention as recited in claim l, wherein the washers are ofarcuate form and reversely disposed to each other, and the said lowerwasher includes peripheral teeth.

3. The invention as recited in claim l, wherein the said upper washer isprovided with a reversely disposed central wall having diametricallyopposed slots therein, a stud passing through the washer and having ahead disposed within the well formed by said reversely disposed wall,and the central portion of the spring is dis posed within the said slotsand an aligned slot formed in the head of the stud.

. 4. The invention as recited in claim l, wherein the tapered end of thehandle extends only partially through the hole in the head.

5. A drum beater comprising a handle having a tapered end provided withan axial bore communicating with a pair of radial holes; a lower washerforce-fitted on'the tapered end of the handle; a head ofresilient-material having a hole passing therethrough and inserted overthe said tapered end of the handle with the lower surface .of the headabutting the said lower washer; an upper washer abuttingthe uppersurface of the head, said washer being provided with a central well; astud having a slotted headdisposed in said well; and a wire springhaving a base portion disposed within the slot in the stud head, a pairof normally diverging armsl extending into the handle bore and offsetends disposed within the said radial holes, the spacing of said washersbeing less than the normal thickness of said resilient head.

6. The invention as recited inclaim 5, wherein the said washers are ofarcuate formfand reversely disposed, and the .lower washer includesperipheral teeth.

No references cited.

